Garfield Portch demonstrated the machine with the massive $10 blue whale stamp. Blowing the stamp up revealed microprinting and a number of fluorescing details. Moving up the edge of the stamp, he revealed how the software makes it possible not only to count the perfs, but to actually make measurements. In a second demonstration, two earlier stamps were compared. Using the comparator, it was possible to backlight the stamps to reveal the laid paper line, and compare details of the wire weave. It appeared identical in both cases. In the case of a cover, Portch showed how it was possible to compare a spectral signature of the ink used in the cancel on a stamp with a separate date stamp. In this case, the inks matched, revealing that both stamps had been applied at the same time. Continue reading →
Lot 1 in Eastern Auctions' June 19 Camellia Collections sale is the original seven-page 1851 contract for the production of Canada's first postage stamps. Signed by Provincial Postmaster General James Morris and representatives of the New York engraving firm Rawdon, Wright, Hatch and Edson, the historic document established the terms for printing the Province of Canada's first stamp issue, including the iconic three-pence Beaver.
